The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) has awarded Sulzbacher Village the Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Award, recognizing excellence in the affordable housing industry and organizations that have used of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) for maximum impact.
Announced each year at an event on Capitol Hill that unites members of Congress, business and housing leaders, the award honors Housing Credit developments that are strengthening communities, improving health and boosting economies in urban, suburban and rural areas across the country.
“This year’s Edson Award recipients are among the most innovative developers, investors, builders and facilitators of low-income housing developments nationwide,” said AHTCC President Michael Gaber. “It is important to recognize their commitment and achievements at a time when the need for affordable housing is reaching crisis levels.”
Sulzbacher Village was co-developed by The Vestcor Companies and Sulzbacher and syndicated by Hunt Capital Partners, as a 92,000 square foot campus that provides 70 affordable rental homes for homeless women, veterans, children and families, financed by the Housing Credit. Additional units include 36 short-term stay apartments for women, eight respite apartments for women recently released from local hospitals and eight apartments for homeless veteran women. An on-site health center offers primary care, dental, vision and behavioral services for resident children and children in the community at large. The campus also includes a computer lab, children’s library, playground, commercial kitchen, a job placement and assistance program and educational programs, including GED classes. In an outpouring of community support, 500 volunteers worked for three weeks to assemble over one thousand pieces of furniture for the new homes.
“We are incredibly honored to be the recipient of this national award from the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, along with our partners Vestcor and Hunt Capital”, said Cindy Funkhouser, president and CEO of Sulzbacher. “The Village was a labor of love for us and the entire community of Jacksonville embraced our vision of a dignified place that homeless women, veterans and families could call home. We could not be more thrilled to share this honor with our lead donors on the project, the Lucy B. Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust, the Delores Barr Weaver Fund, the Jim Moran Foundation, the Crawford Family Foundation, the WC Gentry and Susan Gentry-Dearing Family Foundation, Baptist Health, the Bryan Family Trustees of the Henry and Lucy Gooding Endowment, Fidelity Foundation, Mary Virginia Terry, Lindsay Helms and the Community Foundation of NE FL.”
